Archives for
October 2006

Social networks are increasingly being used to distribute adware and spyware. Back in July, it became apparent that Zango's software is being distributed through certain MySpace layouts sites, resulting in a pop-up window when you visit an affected M...

The Yahoo-Facebook discussions are still in progress, but it doesn't look like they'll be closing the deal as fast as Google and YouTube. According to the WSJ, an acquisition isn't imminent unless Yahoo increases its $1 billion offer or a changing bu...

StuffSpace, which has been kicking around for most of the year and is now headed for official launch, is a social network based around the stuff people own - similar, in fact, to recently-reviewed Zebo. Users upload products to the database along wit...

No doubt following in the footsteps of their US counterpart Facebook, Aussie university network StudentFace just opened up to everyone - if you didn't get a chance to test it last time, you can today. The new global network allows student members to ...

Zimbio is rolling out a new release today. As mentioned previously, Zimbio is a community site that's like a social network crossed with a wiki: users create public portals on certain topics with photo albums, headlines, links, news, group blogs and ...

Orkut, Google's only major social network until they snapped up YouTube this week, seems to cause them nothing but trouble. Not only do they have constant problems with criminal activities by some of their Brazilian users, but now they're in trouble ...

Sporting social networks are hot, with new ones continuing to spring up. Today the Portland Trail Blazers announced a partnership with Affinity Circles, one of the best known social network providers, to launch the an official social network for bask...

Dick Parsons, Time Warner's chairman and CEO, says he plans to pursue copyright complaints against YouTube. Time Warner owns AOL, Warner Brothers, Time Inc, HBO, Time Warner Cable, Home Box Office, New Line Cinema and Turner Broadcasting System, but ...

LiveJournal yesterday launched their LJTalk service, which allows users to integrate the LiveJournal experience into instant messaging. As mentioned during the beta back in July, LJTalk is a partnership with the Gizmo Project, based on the Jabber pro...

Talk about a lucky break: the owner of UTube.com has turned down a $1 million dollar offer for the domain, and is holding out for $2.5 million to $3 million, or so he claims. The site is presumably receiving heavy traffic from users typing "utube.com...

The Portland Trail Blazers aren't the only sports team about to launch their own social network: the Indianapolis Colts are set to release a network, too, making them the first NFL team to do so. The imaginatively named "Colts Fan Network" isn't yet ...

I'd like to think I had a role in this, but frankly I'm just glad they've seen sense: SingShot, the so-called YouTube for karaoke, is now completely free with full access to all the features. Previously, SingShot offered a two-week free trial, follow...

From measures to catch copyrighted content, to sponsored channels, shilling and blatant gaming of the system, YouTube isn't what it used to be. It seems the YouTube party might not go on forever, with the AP releasing a speculative piece that the sit...

The timing of this move, a week after the YouTube-Google deal, might be entirely coincidental, but MySpace Video appear to have made changes over the weekend that will dramatically increase the number of videos viewed on the site and discourage users...

LinkedIn, the biggest social network for business (and the only network that's guaranteed to be free from emo kids), announced late yesterday that they're adding a "yellow pages-like" services directory. Appearing under the Services tab, the new sect...

Warner Music just announced another partnership today, this time with the video remixing service Muvee. Muvee is a video service that offers both a downloadable mixing tool and a web-based remixer: this deal integrates the web-based tools with Warner...

Pure Digital, makers of the popular "Point and Shoot" disposable camcorder, are set to provide direct uploading to Grouper and Google Video through the new version of their software. The system is pretty simple: shoot a video, plug the camcorder into...

The virtual world of Second Life is one of those services that gets a lot of press coverage, but slower user adoption. Hosting concerts and setting up offices in SL seems to be more about the press coverage you'll get in the real world than the limit...

Tailrank, the service that tracks blog buzz, launched a 2.0 version today after 6 months of development. Aside from a slicker interface, Kevin Burton et al have improved their ranking algorithms. They've also added an archive view to track past stori...

Here we go again. MySpace's parent company News Corp has teamed up with media heavyweights including General Electric's NBC Universal and Viacom as part of a speedy reaction to the Google-YouTube deal. The aim? To explore YouTube's legal position whe...

Quizilla, the teen social network, has just been snapped up by MTV Networks for an undisclosed price. The site, which focuses on quizzes, was launched in August 2002 and is owned by Gorilla Nation Media - I've tested it a few times, but never saw any...

I complained over the weekend that YouTube is increasingly being gamed by users. I decided to test out how hard this would be - as it turns out, it's exceptionally easy to rank among the most viewed videos and channels by simply refreshing the page. ...

No, not a buttock-related social network, but a blend of MySpace and YouTube aimed at hip-hop fans, at least according to a paper copy of Billboard Magazine. Designed for the "urban youth" demographic, California-based CrackSpace will offer exclusive...

We haven't heard much about Bebo Bands since its launch in July, but they just announced that they've hit 120,000 artists and continue to add 10,000 bands per week. It occurred to me while checking up on their stats today that despite a lack of press...

Splice, the excellent music remixing community that appeared on Mashable back in September, just announced a new round of features to its users. The best addition - and the one I'm most impressed by after suggesting that Splice should add it - is a p...

I guess it makes me totally uncool to admit I'm clueless about "The Game", the multi-platinum selling rapper who voiced a character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and is today launching two contests through Bix. Bix.com, you might remember, is like...

MothersClick, the social site for moms that I reviewed earlier this month, is now live - if you wanted to test it, you can now. MothersClick combines local mother's groups, forums, blogs, tagging, RSS feeds and a Q&A service that's very similar to Ya...

ReverbNation, which will launch officially on October 31st at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York, is a new social network connecting fans, artists and (coming soon) venues. For artists, the site offers special profile pages similar to those on MySpac...

The story everyone expected to see this week was a major media company suing YouTube over copyright. Well, Universal Music has indeed sued some video-sharing companies today, but thanks to a deal struck with YouTube last week, the market leader escap...

AlumWire is a new social network designed to create professional opportunities for college students, alumni and faculty members. As far as I'm aware, you need a .edu email address or an invite to sign up. You can also log in with your Facebook accoun...

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is a leading source for news, information and resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable's record 42 million unique visitors worldwide and 21 million social media followers are one of the most influential and engaged online communities. Founded in 2005, Mashable is headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco.